ILLINOIS. 




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PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 

1890. 



Copyright, 1890, by J. B. Lippincott Company. 



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ILLINOIS. 



Illinois, the seventeenth in area of the United 
States, but the fourth in population, extends from 
Wisconsin and Lake Michigan on the N. and NE. 
to the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers at 
the extreme SW. — a distance of nearly 400 miles. 
It is bounded on the E. by the state of Indiana, from 
which it is partly separated by the Wabash River ; 
on the S. it is separated from Kentucky by the Ohio ; 
and on the W. the Mississippi flows between it and 
the states of Iowa and Missouri. The area is 56,650 
sq. m., or nearly that of England and Wales. 

The surface of Illinois is the most level of any 
state in the Union, except Delaware and Louisiana ; 
and its wide grassy plains, though broken by numer- 
ous streams fringed with belts of fine timber, have 
gained for it the name of the Prairie State. The 
drainage is towards the south-west, through streams 
which flow into the Mississippi. The Illinois River, 
the largest in the state to which it gives name, is 
formed by the union of two streams in the north- 
east of the state, about 45 miles south-west of Lake 
Michigan, and has a south-west course of about 500 



4 ILLINOIS. 

miles in all, joining the Mississippi 20 miles above 
the mouth of the Missouri. The fertile soil — a 
heavy black loam — with a favourable climate, makes 
this the richest agricultural state in the Union ; and 
Illinois ranks first for the production of corn, cattle, 
hogs, and horses. 

The following is an exhibit of the chief crops for 
the year 1889, showing the acreage, product, and 
value : 

Acres. Bushels. Value. 

Wheat 2,052,388 37,201,916 ^26,093,250 

Oats 3.633,936 142,150,811 28,981,064 

Corn 6,988,267 247,980,589 58>337,049 

Potatoes ..... 123,758 15,855,006 4,145,823 

Rye 204,873 3,803,419 1,466,229 

Barley 40,088 1,207,157 5^ 1.994 

Hay 3,176,281 (4,910,544 tons) 26,819,871 

Total 16,219,591 448,198,898 ^146,355,280 

The mineral output of Illinois, especially of bitu- 
minous coal, is also large. Nearly a fifth of the en- 
tire coalfield of the United States is found in this 
state, where during the year 1889 there were 49 
counties in which coal was mined, and 854 mines in 
operation. The number of tons of coal mined dur- 
ing the year was 11,597,963, and this industry alone 
gave direct employment to 30,076 persons, of whom 
23,583 were miners. OtheV minerals are lead, lime- 
stone, salt, and fluor-spar, the last found near Rose- 
clare. 

The position of Illinois presents unusual facilities 
for commerce. The rivers that cross or touch the 
state are navigable for over 400 miles, while by way 
of the great lakes Chicago has also a water-highway 



ILLINOIS. e 

to the Atlantic. Moreover, Illinois has more rail- 
roads than any other state: in 1889 these presented 
a total of 10,153 miles. The trade of the state cen- 
tres in Chicago, and in the article on that city statis- 
tics are given, as well as some indication of the lead- 
ing manufactures. Of these last the principal are 
connected with agriculture. 

The state is divided into 102 counties. The gov- 
ernor and most of the other state officers are elected 
for four years, the judges of the supreme court for 
nine. The legislature meets biennially; and to the 
lower house each district returns three members, 
cumulative voting being permitted in order to pro- 
vide for the representation of minorities. Twenty 
representatives are sent to the Federal congress. 
The provisions for education are liberal. The state 
maintains two normal schools, an agricultural col- 
lege, and an industrial university ; and besides these 
there are many other colleges and universities. A 
compulsory educational law is in force, which requires 
children between the ages of seven and fourteen to 
attend for at least sixteen weeks in the year some 
public day school, or some private school teaching 
the branches commonly taught in the public schools. 
In the year 1889 there were 763,411 pupils and 
23,089 teachers in the common schools: and $\\,- 
730,895* was expended in the support of these schools. 
The state charitable institutions include four hospi- 
tals for the insane, at Elgin, Kankakee, Jacksonville, 
and Anna ; an institution for the deaf and dumb, and 
another for the blind at Jacksonville ; an asylum for 
the feeble-minded at Lincoln ; a home for the or- 



6 ILLINOIS. 

phans of soldiers at Normal ; an eye and ear in- 
firmary at Chicago ; a reform school for boys at 
Pontiac; and a soldiers' and sailors' home at Quincy. 
The average number of inmates for the year ending 
July I, 1889, was 6024, and the ordinary expense of 
maintenance, including salaries, was ;^i,005,6i7. 

Formerly a part of the North-west Territory, Illi- 
nois was organised as a territory in 1809, and admit- 
ted as a state on 3d December, 1818. While the 
Federal law at that date made a population of 40,000 
a condition of admission, it is well established that 
the actual population of Illinois was then but 34,620. 
In 1830 the population numbered 157,445; in 1850, 
851,470; in 1870, 2,539,891; in 1880, 3>o;7,87i, 
showing a remarkable increase. Chicago is by far 
the largest city of Illinois; its limits embrace nearly 
a fourth of the entire population of the state. Peoria, 
Quincy, Springfield (the capital), and Bloomington 
rank next in population. Important events in the 
history of Illinois have been the Indian wars of the 
territorial period, the Black Hawk war of 1832, and 
the Mormon (q.v.) troubles in 1840-44. The state 
raised six regiments for the Mexican war, and during 
the civil war contributed 259,092 men to the Union 
armies, of whom over 29,000 were killed in action 
or died of wounds or disease. At Springfield Abra- 
ham Lincoln lived before he was elected president, 
and there he is buried. See S. Breese, Early History 
of Illiiiois (Chicago, 1 884); J. Moses, Illinois^ His- 
iojical and Statistical (Chicago, 1889). 



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